Stay In-the-Know: This Week’s Top News You Can’t Miss
- Prospective Parent Tour tomorrow, January 28th, 9-10am
- Student holiday this Wednesday, January 29th
- Administrative Coffee Chat this Friday, January 31st at 8am in the Community Room
- Last day to order personalized yearbooks is this Friday, January 31st. Link below
- We need volunteers for the PRIDE Reading Program. See info below
Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! It was nice to see everyone back from the MLK holiday and our unexpected bad weather day. It was a short, but enjoyable week. This week, we’re looking forward to our Prospective Parent Tour and an Administrative Coffee Chat. As we continue our work together this second semester, there is still much to learn, to do, and to look forward to in 2025. We will also continue to focus on student learning growth and enrichment opportunities, as well as on safe and secure practices. Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL
SILVER RAVE AWARD PIN FOR JANUARY
The RAVE (Recognizing All Valuable Employees) program exists to recognize AISD employees who take the extra steps to provide equitable and exceptional experiences for our students, families, staff, and community members. Campus Principals have been provided with ‘Silver Rave’ pins to acknowledge local staff members each month. The recipients for the month of January are some of our Teacher Assistants on our Special Education Team: Donna Colvin, Erika Lopez, Adriana McFarlane, and Lynesia Martin. These very special individuals take exceptional care of the students that they serve. The daily support, encouragement, guidance, and direction that these Teacher Assistants provide to students is invaluable. Each of them has a unique skill and gift that brings out the best in all of the students that they serve. And they all do their jobs with grace and love for the students. We can’t thank these individuals enough for their support, professionalism, and care. Our Learning Community is so fortunate and appreciative to have Ms. Colvin, Ms. Lopez, Ms. McFarlane, and Ms. Martin as a part of our Casis Cougar PRIDE family. They’re simply the best!
BOARD APPRECIATION MONTH
January is School Board Appreciation Month. The theme for 2025 is “Leadership for Tomorrow’s Texas”. We thank and celebrate all of our AISD Board Members for their work and commitment to public school education. These elected officials play a vital role in our communities and schools. Our District 5 Trustee, Lynn Boswell, has strong Casis community ties and is a valued partner with our school, as our area representative. Please join me in recognizing Ms. Boswell and the entire Board in the role that they fulfill in our school district!
CASIS HEALTH ROOM CORNER FOR JANUARY
Even though we’ve just returned from the winter break, here’s some health information, related to what our Health Staff has already noticed. Check out the following health links: Norovirus Information, Getting Through Norovirus, Winter Illnesses, and Pneumonia Information. If you have any questions about health guidelines in the school, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Health Room Staff, Natasha Gosek (School Nurse) and Alicia Henry (Clinical Assistant).
PROSPECTIVE PARENT TOUR
Prospective Parent Tours are great opportunities for families to get to learn about our school culture and programming, as well as take a tour of our new facility and amazing outdoor learning spaces. School Administration and PTA Leadership will lead these adult only tours. We look forward to sharing and showing all of the things that make Casis Elementary such a stellar educational choice for their children. The first tour of this school year will take place on Tuesday, January 28 at 9am – 10am. Can’t wait to show these potential new families our amazing school community!
JANUARY 29 STUDENT HOLIDAY REMINDER
Please note that this Wednesday, January 29, is a designated campus staff development day and a student holiday. It is the beginning of the Chinese or Lunar New Year.
AISD GIFTED & TALENTED ACTIVITIES
Families of newly identified Gifted & Talented OR Talent Explore students are invited to join the District for one of their upcoming Information Sessions on Wednesday & Thursday, January 29 & 30. See informational flyer here: New Family Information Sessions. Additionally, Gifted & Talented Students are also encouraged to submit a project for the AISD GT Virtual Showcase. The project is optional and to be done from home. The submission window is February 7 – April 11. See details about this district happening here: AISD GT Virtual Showcase Information.
ADMINISTRATIVE COFFEE CHAT FOR JANUARY
Casis Administration will host a series of meetings during the school year, to engage with parents about various school topics and happenings. During these informal meetings, Mr. Tinnon, Ms. Davis, and Ms. Navickas will share school information and dialogue with parents about school topics of their choice. The goal of this platform is to build our shared knowledge and make community connections. Our next ‘Administrative Chat’ will take place on Friday, January 31 at 8:00a.m. in the Casis Community Room. We look forward to having some very authentic conversations with our learning community.
2025 – 2026 ENROLLMENT IS OPEN
Austin ISD Priority Registration for Kinder-12th grade for the 2025–26 school year is Nov. 6, 2024 – Feb. 4, 2025. [Pre-K Registration will open in the Spring.] Students interested in admissions- and campus-based programs must complete their enrollment and any campus-specific application requirements on or before February 4, 2025. If families have questions, they can go to the enrollment website or call the Enroll Austin Help Line at 512-414-SEAT (7328). Want to learn more? Please explore these Enroll Austin FAQs.
FAMILY LEARNING & ENGAGING SESSIONS
AISD’s Special Education, Section 504, and Dyslexia Departments are sponsoring Family Empower Hour Sessions throughout the 2024 – 2025 school year. These one-hour sessions are designed to provide valuable information, resources, and support to families on various topics. These sessions will be recorded and accessible on the AISD Special Education website. We hope that families will avail themselves of these community learning and engagement opportunities throughout this school year.
SEL & EQUITY PRACTICES
In Austin ISD and at Casis Elementary, we believe that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is at the heart of equity-centered systems and structures. Our goal is to use and grow our social and emotional skills, while creating brave, respectful, collaborative spaces that support all students, staff, families and communities throughout our district and in our learning community. Throughout the school year, we will teach specific skills-building strategies to our students, in order to develop important character traits, like respect, empathy, compassion, and friendships. Mindfulness strategies and principles will also be a common core of this instruction as well. Administration, Teachers, and Support Staff will all be working with students throughout the school year to develop a strong social/emotional foundation, that includes building a lens of fairness and equity for all, no matter the differences among us.
The SEL word for the month of January is Self Talk. Self-Talk is talking to yourself in a quiet voice or in your head. Using self-talk helps you stay focused and manage strong feelings.
The Equity word for the month of January is Connection. We are all connected in our school community. We can strengthen our relationships and connections by communicating with each other and build upon our strengths. As we come back from Winter Break, this is a great time for us to reconnect as a class and school family.
Following is a resources sheet for the months of November/December that will help support these two important concepts, both at school and at home. JANUARY RESOURCES SHEET.
IMPORTANT DATES
January – School Board Appreciation Month
Mon., Jan. 27 – Fri., Jan. 31 – Holocaust Remembrance Week
Tues., Jan. 28 – Prospective Parent Tour at 9am
Wed., Jan. 29 – Staff Development Day / Student Holiday
Fri., Jan. 31 – Administrators Coffee Chat at 8am (Community Room)
February – National African American Heritage Month
Mon., Feb. 3 – Fri., Feb. 7 – School Counselor Appreciation Week
Tues., Feb. 4 – CAC Meeting at 3:30pm (Community Room)
TRAFFIC SAFETY PROCEDURES
Please adhere to the guidelines in your particular arrival/dismissal area (Front Circle Drive or North Parking Lot). See Arrival & Dismissal Plan here. We continually ask for your patience and cooperation in exercising safe practices in your area.
Additionally, please see the following reminders/updates:
- Walkers should use crosswalks at all times.
- Bikers should park bikes at bike racks and walk bikes through crosswalks.
- Drivers should ALWAYS be aware of our foot and bike traffic.
- Drivers should consider TURNING OFF ENGINES when not moving forward.
- Avoid Parking in the Casis Village, if conducting school business.
- Front Circle Drive & Hillview are available for parent parking during the day.
- The North Parking Lot is designated for staff parking only.
- Vehicles using the North Parking Lot during arrival and dismissal (3rd – 5th) should be aware of all walkers who are using the parking lot crosswalks.
- Vehicles cued on Northwood for Circle Drive afternoon pick-up should remain in one moving line to avoid double-parking.
Vehicles who need to enter the North Parking Lot for morning/afternoon drop-offs/pick-ups of 3rd – 5th graders may safely by-pass the ‘Circle Drive’ vehicles to enter the parking lot.